WHAT WAS SHAKESPEARE’S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT? WHAT ARE THE CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDING HIS WILL? WHAT THEORIES ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN THOSE CONTROVERSIES? - By Derek Rott
After a very successful life as a playwright, Shakespeare retired to his house in Stratford upon Avon, in fact, it was the larges one in the town, says editors Mrs. Mowat and Mr. Werstine who wrote a preface to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, proving how well off he was. In January of 1616, Shakespeare penned his will, but strangely enough, he re-wrote it on March 25th explains Tarnya Cooper, author of Searching for Shakespeare. What was contained in the will was very strange indeed, and there is much controversy over it and its contents.
It is theorized that Shakespeare did rewrite his will due to the fact that his daughter, Judith, married a man named Tomas Quiney. How the will was influenced by this can be assumed due to the fact that Quiney had recently impregnated another woman (both the woman and the child had died a few days earlier). Maybe it acted in a way so that Quiney was "prompted" to stay with Judith, as Judith would receive £300, which would go to him if there were no heirs, as well as if he stayed with her. This information and theory of motive was adopted from Shakespeare; The World as Stage by Bill Bryson. Quiney and Judth had had other problems with the Church (which were later dismissed) that most likely motivated other changes.
The contents of the will itself are very interesting by their own accord. After his daughter's incident with the clergy, briefly mentioned above, Shakespeare evidently felt peeved with the church; these feelings proven by the fact that he didn't leave any money for the church or for a memorial service elaborates Park Honan's Shakespeare; A Life. That action would be considered unorthodox. Another odd thing about the will is that no final draft was ever made. Shakespeare's will is covered with scribbles and marks that he merely signed his name on (he even misspelled it). I have seen this myself by studying a copy of the original. And that's not even the half of it. . .
In Shakespeare's last will and testament, he left his daughter, Susana, the majority of his wealth. He bequeathed her his entire estate, an extreme difference in comparison to what he gave to anyone else, including his other daughter and sister. I read very precise apportionments from Shakespeare; The World as Stage by Bill Bryson. Some might think that this seemingly blatant favoritism to one daughter would be wrong, but this was actually very common. If the estate were split up in chunks, the family would not be able to retain their "gentry" status. So maybe Shakespeare wasn't acting completely on personal favoritism, but instead in the best interest of his family.
Shakespeare died on April 23rd, 1616 and was buried two days later in his old church, Holy Trinity explain Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine. He was nearly 53 years old. His will was carried out, and thus ended the life of one of the most famous and influential writers in history.
After a very successful life as a playwright, Shakespeare retired to his house in Stratford upon Avon, in fact, it was the larges one in the town, says editors Mrs. Mowat and Mr. Werstine who wrote a preface to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, proving how well off he was. In January of 1616, Shakespeare penned his will, but strangely enough, he re-wrote it on March 25th explains Tarnya Cooper, author of Searching for Shakespeare. What was contained in the will was very strange indeed, and there is much controversy over it and its contents.
It is theorized that Shakespeare did rewrite his will due to the fact that his daughter, Judith, married a man named Tomas Quiney. How the will was influenced by this can be assumed due to the fact that Quiney had recently impregnated another woman (both the woman and the child had died a few days earlier). Maybe it acted in a way so that Quiney was "prompted" to stay with Judith, as Judith would receive £300, which would go to him if there were no heirs, as well as if he stayed with her. This information and theory of motive was adopted from Shakespeare; The World as Stage by Bill Bryson. Quiney and Judth had had other problems with the Church (which were later dismissed) that most likely motivated other changes.
The contents of the will itself are very interesting by their own accord. After his daughter's incident with the clergy, briefly mentioned above, Shakespeare evidently felt peeved with the church; these feelings proven by the fact that he didn't leave any money for the church or for a memorial service elaborates Park Honan's Shakespeare; A Life. That action would be considered unorthodox. Another odd thing about the will is that no final draft was ever made. Shakespeare's will is covered with scribbles and marks that he merely signed his name on (he even misspelled it). I have seen this myself by studying a copy of the original. And that's not even the half of it. . .
In Shakespeare's last will and testament, he left his daughter, Susana, the majority of his wealth. He bequeathed her his entire estate, an extreme difference in comparison to what he gave to anyone else, including his other daughter and sister. I read very precise apportionments from Shakespeare; The World as Stage by Bill Bryson. Some might think that this seemingly blatant favoritism to one daughter would be wrong, but this was actually very common. If the estate were split up in chunks, the family would not be able to retain their "gentry" status. So maybe Shakespeare wasn't acting completely on personal favoritism, but instead in the best interest of his family.
Shakespeare died on April 23rd, 1616 and was buried two days later in his old church, Holy Trinity explain Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine. He was nearly 53 years old. His will was carried out, and thus ended the life of one of the most famous and influential writers in history.